I was recently in India, Delhi more precisely. It has been 14 years since I went there and I was thrilled to go back.

The Lotus temple in Delhi, India

Lotus Temple - Delhi, India

Women crossing the street in Delhi, India

Crossing the street - Delhi, India

Food wise, I was very excited as I love Indian food, although I did not try the street food as I did not want to get sick and my Indian colleagues and friends told me to be extremely careful and only eat cooked food. I followed their advice and had some of the best meals ever, especially at Bukhara, a world famous restaurant serving incredible meats cooked in a tandoor (clay pot) oven.

street food in Delhi, India

Street food - Delhi, India

street food in Delhi, India

Street food - Delhi, India

In the next posts, you will read about some of the most memorable meals I had:

Spice Route at the Imperial Hotel, Delhi (India)

Hallway of the Imperial Hotel in Delhi, India

Hallway of the Imperial Hotel - Delhi, India

The Imperial Hotel is one the fancier restaurants you would find in Delhi. As soon as you enter in the lobby, you are mesmerized by the fantastic decor. Walking in the hallway, you will find The Spice Route, considered by Conde Nast Traveler as one of the top ten best restaurants in the world. There, Chef Veena Arora crafted a menu that follows the route of spices from the Malabar Coast in Kerala through Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Indonesia to Thailand and Vietnam.

The Spice Route at the Imperial Hotel in Delhi, India

Designed by Rajeev Sethi, the decor is hand painted with vegetable and flower dyes by mural painters brought in especially from a temple in Guruvayur, Kerala and furnished with antiques from South East Asia.

The Spice Route at the Imperial Hotel in Delhi, India

There, we tried the express lunch that was a tasting menu, which proposed vegetarian and non-vegetarian. I went for the latter.

papadam, The Spice Route at the Imperial Hotel in Delhi, India

Before our dishes came, they served us some papadam with various sauces, some of them very spicy and some sweet.

sauces, The Spice Route at the Imperial Hotel in Delhi, India

The spiciest one being the one in the bottom left that I truly enjoyed.

appetizers, The Spice Route at the Imperial Hotel in Delhi, India

The first dish was composed of a Por Pia Chae or Thai style spring roll, served with a sweet chili and a plum sauce. On the left, was Yum Woon Sen Chae or Thai bean vermicelli salad with vegetables: